India had been forced into nuclear isolation following the 1974 Pokharan atomic tests and ironically the NSG was formed in reaction to those tests.
The approval came after almost three days of meeting in Vienna on Saturday. The NSG meet was called to minimise any damage to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India has not joined.
The consensus was arrived after overcoming misgivings expressed by Austria, Ireland and New Zealand and is an unprecedented step in giving exemption to a country, which has not signed the NPT and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
A statement issued by Austrian Foreign Ministry said, "After protracted negotiations, the NSG today adopted an exemption for nuclear exports to India. We are finally convinced by Pranab's (India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee) statement and India's commitment to Non proliferation. We continue to have concerns on language on testing but we will not block consensus."